FABIAN SOCIETY The Fabian Society is Britain’s leading left of centre think tank and political society, committed to creating the political ideas and policy debates which can shape the future of progressive politics. With over 300 Fabian MPs, MEPs, Peers, MSPs and AMs, the Society plays an unparalleled role in linking the ability to influence policy debates at the highest level with vigorous grassroots debate among our growing membership of over 7000 people, 70 local branches meeting regularly throughout Britain and a vibrant Young Fabian section organising its own activities. Fabian publications, events and ideas therefore reach and influence a wider audience than those of any comparable think tank. The Society is unique among think tanks in being a thriving, democratically-constituted membership organisation, affiliated to the Labour Party but organisationally and editorially independent. For over 120 years Fabians have been central to every important renewal and revision of left of centre thinking. The Fabian commitment to open and participatory debate is as important today as ever before as we explore the ideas, politics and policies which will define the next generation of progressive politics in Britain, Europe and around the world. Fabian Society 11 Dartmouth Street London SW1H 9BN www.fabians.org.uk First published 2007 ISBN 978 0 7163 4104 8 This pamphlet, like all publications of the Fabian Society, represents not the collective views of the Society but only the views of the authors. The responsibility of the Society is limited to approving its publications as worthy of consideration within the Labour movement. This publication may not be reproduced without express permission of the Fabian Society. British Library Cataloguing in Publication data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Printed by Bell & Bain, Glasgow Labour’s Choice THE DEPUTY LEADERSHIP Hilary Benn Hazel Blears Jon Cruddas Peter Hain Harriet Harman Alan Johnson Edited by Tom Hampson iv CONTENTS PREFACE vii OUR FUTURE TOGETHER 1 Hilary Benn BUILDING ON SUCCESS 13 Hazel Blears AFTER NEW LABOUR 25 Jon Cruddas RECONNECT TO WIN 37 Peter Hain PUTTING FAMILIES FIRST 47 Harriet Harman A PROGRESSIVE CENTURY 57 Alan Johnson v vi PREFACE he democratisation of debate has perhaps been the most striking change to British political writing Tsince the Fabian Society began publishing essays and pamphlets over 120 years ago. Policy is debated not only in the newspaper columns of opinionated commen- tators and in increasingly sophisticated political analysis across the mainstream media but now also online amongst political writers and bloggers across the globe. And – fortunately for us – this swirl of opinion and infor- mation has only strengthened the need for the short, cogent and well-argued essay. This collection of essays is published at a unique moment in the history of the British Labour Party and of the progres- sive left. The summer of 2007 sees Labour marking an unpar- alleled ten years in power and this year’s leadership elections give us a chance to weigh up Labour’s achievements against the tasks left undone. This is a moment that we must capture and use. And the Fabian Society has long been the forum for these debates. We are the place where the Labour Party – from its leaders vii Labour’s Choice to its grassroots – thinks about what matters most to it and about how to turn those beliefs into practical politics, and we are also a bridge between Party members and the broader progressive movement. The modern media age and the experience of opposition means that Labour’s lead- ers are all too aware of the cost of disunity and division. But lack of substantial debate is just as dangerous. The Fabians have traditionally held hustings for the Labour Party leadership elections and given candidates – from Attlee, Gaitskell and Wilson to Kinnock, Smith and Blair – the opportunity to write essays and set out their stalls. It is important that we have these debates openly, critically and pluralistically. This has long been the Fabian way: we are affiliated to – indeed, we helped to found – the Labour Party and we are proud of it. But it is because we maintain our independence that that we are able to main- tain our usefulness. With that in mind, we are currently developing our agenda for the next decade of British poli- tics, focusing on life chances and equality, democracy, the environment, education, and foreign policy. In this collection, we have asked the candidates for the Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party to write us Fabian Essays that reflect their views on the challenges facing the Government and progressive politics. We hope that these six authors – all members of the Fabian Society themselves – will help encourage a produc- tive debate about the next decade of British politics. TH viii ix Hilary Benn is MP for Leeds Central and has been Secretary of State for International Development since 2003. x OUR FUTURE TOGETHER Hilary Benn Winning the next election t is clear that the next election will be the most closely fought in years and that we now face the greatest test of Iour character for a generation. If just 17,000 people had voted differently in 2005, Labour would not have gained a majority. And while we must continue to work hard in the most marginal seats, we must not be tempted to run a nar- row campaign. Winning the next election will depend on broadening our support, listening to what people have to say, and showing how Labour politics will make a difference in each neigh- bourhood. And it will depend on building a grassroots party that faces outwards and represents the new kind of politics that I think people want. We will only renew our Party if we work together. At home, a decade of economic growth and investment in public services is now almost taken for granted. The Tories are more confident, the Liberals, Nationalists and BNP are active in our heartlands and a growing culture of cynicism is undermining our democracy. If this is to be the century 1 Labour’s Choice in which Labour politics really shapes British public life, we must set a new direction. We can all look back on the last ten years with pride, but politics is about the future. We live in an age of unprece- dented interdependence – with economic globalisation, climate change and new security threats – and of unprece- dented potential to defeat poverty and build a better world. Our values and our commitment to social justice will not change. In 1997 we were carried to government on the hope of better things, but in 2007 we must show that we have the confidence and the ideas to take Britain forward once again. We need to win the trust of the people who voted for us in three elections. So our priorities must be to: show that Labour is the only party that understands the changing world and that will help Britain to change in response; represent a more straightforward kind of politics that lis- tens to people, explains decisions clearly and speaks in a direct, open and personal way; demonstrate that as well as maintaining a strong economy Labour is also strong on the things that will matter most to people at the next elec- tion, including public services, (particularly education and the NHS); building strong and safe communities; ensuring that people can afford to find somewhere to live; and tackling climate change. A more straightforward politics A more straightforward approach is vital if we are going to reconnect the Party, the leadership and the people, and restore the health of our democracy and trust in our pub- lic life. It is also the only way to deal with the corrosive cynicism that pervades too much of our politics. I am not interested in personality politics or squabbling. I think members and voters are tired of that. I will speak 2 Hilary Benn up and speak out for our values, and stand up for a strong Cabinet and collective discussion leading to collective decisions. Party reform should be an important part of this new politics. I know grassroots members too often feel as if they are on the outside looking in at their own Government through a window. That’s why I want to help build a leadership that unites our Party and is trust- ed by the electorate; one that respects our members and connects the grassroots to the Government. Our Party needs a sense of excitement again. We joined the Party to change the world, and not to change the min- utes of the last meeting. As part of a more straightforward approach, I believe above all that the Party has to look outwards. We need to act on the responsibility we have to help change things, by doing more in, and with, local communities on local issues. Our Party also needs to restore a sense of partnership. The Labour Party is nothing if not a collective endeavour. We need a frank and more direct relationship between leaders and members, recognising that compromise and negotiation are at the heart of politics. We need to be more open and transparent, and to be unafraid of debate and disagreement. And we need always to remember that the Party is a policy-making body, a social network and a com- munity organisation as well as being an electoral machine. Confident in what we believe We have made enormous progress in healing the divided society we were in 1997, but we are not yet content and there is so much more we could do. Nor can we rely on our record or distant memories of boom-and-bust economics, spiralling poverty and chronic under invest- ment under the Tories to win next time.